Former Eagle commits to UC Davis

TEMPLETON — Tuesday night in front of a group of her own friends, parents, and coaches, Amanda Wilson committed to swim for the University of California Davis.

Wilson graduated from Templeton in 2017 and originally signed a letter of intent to swim at the University of Hawaii. She was one of the most talented swimmers in the county during her time in the pool and is unquestionably the most decorated Eagle swimmer.

“I don't think she ever got beat except one time,” Wilson’s mother Lara said, “I think she got one-second place her whole career so she won everything, every year even when she was a freshman.”

Wilson currently holds the school record for six different swimming events at Templeton High School: 100meter butterfly, 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 200m medley relay, 200m free relay, and the 400m free relay.

According to her mother, Wilson found out in May that she would not be attending Hawaii and has spent her time since then in the pool. Wilson and her parents are very excited about the opportunity and are much more comfortable this time around.

“It feels a lot better than the first time,” Wilson said. “The first time I was super, super unsure of kind of where I was headed and I wasn't very confident but I feel a lot better about it this year and a lot more sure of myself and what I want out of it.”

“I'm way more happy about this school than the last,” Wilson’s father Jeff said. “But really not just a sense of pride for her for getting a scholarship to go to school, more of a sense of pride for her because of the year and a half that she went through.”

Wilson went through one of the hardest years a 17-year-old could ever go through. In January, one of Wilson's best friend Shelby Sudbrink was killed in a car crash while she was on her way to pick up a friend from the beach.

While dealing with the loss of one of her closest friends, Wilson also had learn how to handle the divorce of her parents and found out she wouldn't be attending the school she thought she was.

Instead of wallowing in self-pity like many adults might, Wilson kept training and kept working and was noticed.

“She was at a club meet in Clovis,” her mother said. “Some clubs meet in the summer, and he [the scout] watched her and waited for her to finish and she said she got out of the pool and he was right there and said, ‘I’m from UC Davis, let's talk.’”

Each of Wilson’s parents made it clear how proud they are of their daughter, not just for getting a scholarship, but for handling the last year of her life so maturely and it seems that her situation has helped her along the way.

“The girls are so down to earth and authentic,” Wilson said of the girls on the UC Davis swim team. “And they all have really neat stories which is kind of what I have, too, I have an interesting story compared to everyone else so it's cool to talk to them about that.”

Wilson will head to Davis this June and will major in Human Development with a minor in Art.